Abstract The Judith McBrien Collection consists of a number of reels of commercial footage and out-takes that were presumably shot for a piece focusing on the legacy and influence of Polish immigrants in the Chicago area. Featuring interviews conducted in 1964 by Polish-American radio and television personality Sig Sakowicz with local Polish-Americans community leaders, these films were most likely shot as a part of a piece Sakowicz was working on for local television broadcast. Highlights include interviews with Polish-American athletes at Comiskey Park and firefighters at the newly constructed Chicago Fire Academy, footage of a young couple on the steps of a church after their wedding, interior shots of medical and dental offices and an industrial factory, and exterior shots of a single-family housing development on Chicago’s Northwest side.

Creator

McBrien, Judith Paine (created by)Judith Paine McBrien is the director and producer of The Archimedia Workshop and the director of the Daniel Burnham Film Project. She is the director of “Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City,” a film exploring the life of the visionary architect and city planner Daniel Burnham.

For over 15 years McBrien has written, directed and produced programs about architecture, history and urban design for public television broadcast, as well as for arts and environmental organizations including the Art Institute of Chicago, the American Institute of Architects, the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, and the Urban Land Institute. At Perspectives Media, she produced the award-winning 5-part series “Skyline: Chicago” for public television broadcast about Chicago’s history, development, and urban design. In 2000 she wrote and produced a Centerpiece Chicago Story, “Daniel Burnham: The Power of Dreams,” for Chicago public television station WTTW.

McBrien holds a master's degree in architectural history from Columbia University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Gene Siskel Film Center at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Custodial HistoryThese film materials were created and stored by filmmaker Judith McBrien before donating them to CFA.